Longlegs is a 2024 horror thriller film written and directed by Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Gretel & Hansel).
Lee Harker, a talented new FBI agent, has been assigned to an unsolved case of a serial killer. As the investigation becomes more complicated with occult evidence uncovered, Harker realizes a personal link to the ruthless killer and must act quickly to prevent another family murder.
The cast includes Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Alicia Witt, and Blair Underwood.
Longlegs made its debut in theaters July 12th, courtesy of Neon.
First and foremost, lets take a moment to applaud this historic run Neon has been on as of late with films like Pig, The Lodge, Parasite, It Lives Inside, Infinity Pool, and Anatomy of a Fall, just to name a few. Bottom line, they are out here giving A24 a run for their money and that is no easy feat. When Longlegs was first announced I was immediately intrigued, but when the first teaser trailer dropped all I could say was holy fucking shit. I mean honestly, a part of me thought this movie was made just for me.
I was already fairly familiar with director Osgood Perkins after his incredibly underrated horror film The Blackcoat’s Daughter (our full review here), which is a fantastic slow-burn that hits hard. Now here he is back with this movie that was seriously giving me vibes of the ultimate cult classic serial killer film Se7en, and the icing on the cake is that he has my guy Nicolas Cage playing the serial killer. Again, is it Christmas or my birthday because I am feeling pretty damn special. Now with the through the roof expectations out of the way, was Longlegs able to deliver?! Keep reading to find out!
I’m not going to beat around the bush like an asshole, this movie was absolutely fantastic and messed up in all the best ways. Not only did it meet my expectations but dare I say it exceeded them. Now after watching trailers we go into these movies with certain preconceived notions about what the movie is going to be like, and when expectations are high things tend to get extra messy for obvious reasons. But to be honest, I had so much faith in Osgood Perkins as a director in terms of his original style and knack for keeping you guessing right until the very end that I just knew I was in for a treat, and boy did he deliver.
Now as per usual this review will be spoiler-free, but Longlegs is a wild ride. Right from the start viewers are given a taste of the unique and very indie style of filmmaking that Perkins tends to gravitate to, and in my opinion his style makes for a much more intimate viewer experience. It just looks so good. This film is just loaded with everything fanatics like myself are begging for; incredible cinematography, a chilling score, a wildly unsettling and original screenplay, and performances that will literally blow your mind. Bottom line, Longlegs is that movie and Osgood Perkins is that dude. Soooooo good.
I have to start with the story for Longlegs because I feel like in many ways that is the beating heart of the film. I mean, do you even have these incredible performances without a story that fuels them? Probably not. Now Osgood Perkins has proven himself as a director, but his real greatness starts with his ability to craft a story that will equally intrigue and terrify viewers, a very unique and effective balance for sure. His films tend to keep you on edge from start to finish, but my favorite thing about his screenplays are the holy shit moments at the end. The gratifying full circle feeling when it all comes together in the grand finale and has you damn near standing up to clap. Perkins is just on another level as a storyteller.
I was honestly all over the place during the entire film trying to piece it all together to get an idea of where things were headed, but I was not prepared. Not even close. Now Perkins is the master of making it obvious that something is just not right from the start in terms of the characters and the overall feel, and this keeps viewers on the edge-of-their seats for pretty much the entire film. Everything about Longlegs is just so wild and unpredictable that eventually you give up trying to figure it out and just wait to see where the dominos fall, and trust me I mean that in a good way. Not single shot is wasted and the story just has so many layers to it. I am sure that I will pick up on things I missed with a second and third viewing. Perkins very clearly takes pride in keeping things an absolute mystery right until the final act, and as long as he keeps making movies I will be there opening night.
As far as the performances are concerned, I have three words for you, Nicolas FUCKING Cage. I feel like I am swearing a lot but trust me when I say it is warranted. Cage is seriously otherworldly as the serial killer known only as Longlegs. We are introduced to him right away but he is unrecognizable to the point where I wasn’t sure if it was him at first. Everything about him will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up straight and that is a big reason why this movie works so well. I do wish we got to see more of him, but how he was utilized did make sense in terms of the story and the overall mystery surrounding the killings.
Getting the majority of the screen time was actress Maika Monroe as FBI agent Lee Harker. I would argue that Monroe is underrated as an actress, but she definitely helped change the game as far as the horror genre with the start of the “elevated horror” subgenre when she starred in the 2014 horror film It Follows. Monroe is great here as this socially awkward but very talented agent who very clearly has a few demons of her own. She truly became this character which helped to build the suspense for the film. I hope she continues to get more opportunities because she always seems to deliver especially when it comes to the horror genre.
Alicia Witt, a veteran actress who has been in a little bit of everything dating back almost 40 years, takes on a prominent supporting role as Lee’s mother Ruth. Monroe and Witt have fantastic chemistry and I was honestly lowkey blown away by Witt’s performance especially during the films third act. Actor Blair Underwood plays the higher ranking detective that Lee teams up with to try and track down Longlegs. I thought his character was great as it offered a nice balance between your typical straight-laced detective and Harker who was a bit more unorthodox in her methods. In general you really couldn’t have asked for a better cast especially for a horror movie.
Now I talked about Osgood Perkins and his skills as a storyteller, but the man knows his way around a camera let me just say that. Perkins has a very intimate style where many of his shots are up close, over the shoulder, or he will have a character offset making viewers question whether or not something is going to happen in the background. I love his style and as I mentioned earlier in the review it really helps make for such a unique and intimate viewing experience.
For Longlegs Perkins teamed up with cinematographer Andres Arochi, his first feature film, and he took full advantage of the opportunity. Throughout the film the cinematography is incredible as it helps to build this world of absolute dread and despair. I would dare to say that Perkins and Arochi will work together again in the future. Also a huge shoutout to the editing team and make-up department for what they contributed to the film. Also the original score put together by composer Zilgi is nightmare fuel as it takes viewers into the underbelly of pure evil.
THE VERDICT
A wildly unsettling horror thriller that gets under your skin thanks to a masterful original story and a chilling performance from Nicolas Cage, Longlegs is truly a genre-defining film solidifying Osgood Perkins as a supremely talented filmmaker. The marketing alone for this film blew me away, and the fact that the final product delivered is damn impressive in itself.
Now I don’t expect everyone to fall in love with Longlegs, mainly because even though it seems to draw inspiration from classic films like Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs, it definitely falls more in the elevated horror subgenre which to me means some people just won’t truly appreciate how incredible it is. At the end of the day filmmaking is an art form, and what Osgood Perkins delivers here is a work of pure art for film fanatics like myself with a true appreciation for the horror genre. This movie really is that good, and I simply cannot wait to see it again.
TED TAKES RATING - 9.4/10
Longlegs is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.